The Bring Your Own Device Phenomena: Balancing Productivity and Corporate Data Security
Abstract
In a world where technology changes faster than organizations can cope with, it has become
common practice for most employees to acquire the latest of these technologies and use them for
work related activities. This has seen an influx of personally owned devices into the corporate
offices and networks thus creating a host of security challenges on one hand and improving
overall employee productivity on the other.
The main objective of this research study was to find out how organizations can strike a balance
between BYOD productivity and corporate data security. The study primarily focused on the
insurance industry in Kenya due to the high sensitive nature of data and information they handle.
This study made use of exploratory case design. It also utilized primary data only which was
collected through questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The respondents' were from two
insurance firms, herein referred to as Company A and Company B.
From analysis of data collected, it has come out clearly that as much as the term BYOD seems
all too new to most employees it is a practice that has been going on for quite a while. It is also
very clear that management does understand the concept very well, and they are aware of BYOD
impact on productivity. However, adoption of BYOD has not been embraced as much as in the
western countries and industries. This is as a result of a host of challenges that come from own
device usage key been security challenges. However this is set to change as organizations
continue to realize the full potential of BYOD and especially its impact on employee
productivity and as such they have started embracing it amid a lot of infrastructure upgrades and
security solutions to ensure safe onboarding.
Citation
William Turi Kamau (2013). The Bring Your Own Device Phenomena: Balancing Productivity And Corporate Data Security. Master Of Business AdministrationPublisher
University of Nairobi